![]() We loved the brief and our vision and beliefs aligned with Mr Ma’s, so we were very keen to be involved. “In the past our practice has been a bit cautious of getting involved with projects in China, as they tend to be fast track and commercial,” says project director Tanuj Goenka. Christophe Olivro, general manager of Amanyangyun and regional manager of Aman China, describes it as one of the boldest conservation projects in China’s history: “Aman resorts are all about storytelling and Amanyangyun is no exception. This incredible project presented obstacles but it gave us an opportunity to push the boundaries of traditional hospitality.”Īustralian architectural practice Kerry Hill were appointed six years ago, by which time the antique houses had been dismantled and the trees transplanted to a nursery next to the site. In 2009, Ma asked Aman Resorts to get involved. Some of them contained ornate carvings and reliefs detailing family histories which date back two millennia. The tree now forms the heart of the resort at the village green.Īn equal amount of care and precision was applied to the 50 houses, which were taken apart by artisans, brick by brick, labelled and laid out in a warehouse. With a diameter of over two metres, the largest tree was so big that a motorway toll booth had to be demolished for it to pass. Nurtured like babies, about 80 per cent survived. To avoid traffic, the trees were transported overnight on flatbed trucks to their new home. It can blow your mind to think that these ancient trees and their long lives might disappear in a snap of the fingers,” says Ma. “These trees had been alive for almost 2,000 years, before the first Chinese emperor was born. Horrified that so much heritage could be destroyed, Ma assembled a team of botanists, engineers and architects conversant with ancient Chinese architecture to relocate both houses and trees to a new home 20 miles from Shanghai. On a routine visit to his home village in Jiangxi province, Shanghai businessman Ma Dadong learned that up to 30 villages, dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and 10,000 ancient camphor trees were soon to be lost due to a reservoir being given the go-ahead. The story of Amanyangyun is heartwarming as it is a true labour of love.
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